Lyman smith



(No Model.)

L. SMITH. MOUTH PIECE FOR PNEUMATIO GRAIN TRANSFER APPARATUS. N 0.323,225.

IIVVEA/TOR Patented July 28, 1885.

WITNESSES N. PETERS, Phnlu-Lilhognpher, Washin ton. D. C.

ENETED STATES PATENT @rrTcn.

LYMAN SMITH, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

MOUTH-PIECE FOR PNEUMATIC GRAIN-TRANSFER APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 323,225, dated July 28,1885.

Application filed March 2, 1885.

To all whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, LYMAN SMITH, of Kansas City, in the county ofJackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Mouth-Pieces for Pneumatic Apparatus; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention,which will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,which form part of this specification. 1

This invention has for its object to expedite and facilitate thehandling and transfer of grain and other material that iscapable oftransfer by pneumatic apparatus, patented to L. La Rue Smith, November28, 1882, No. 268,303, and No. 268,306, November 28, 1882, granted tome, and in the system as described in said patent, and in patentsgranted to me of alater date for improvements on methods fortransferring grain pneumatically and au tomatically, &c.,'butparticularly as an improvement on Patent No. 289,315, dated November27,1883, in which is a mouth-piece for use at the end of a supply-pipe, andadapted to be conveniently moved about a car or other receptacle tocollect the grain therein contained. In this latter patent themouth-piece is supplied with air by tubes adapted to that purpose,whereby the air and grain as it passes through the tube forms a kind ofsemi-fluid as it passes to the receiver; but in this construction, aswell asin all others known to me, the

volume of outside air is too great, and much of the power of thesuction-engine is wasted sucking said volume. The flow of air and grainin these old methods is also veryirregular, and so much so that thevacuum is very much diminished and frequently destroyed. To overcomethese defects,and to utilize the full power of the suction-engine, andto increase the carrying capacity of the machine with the same power,and to otherwise perfect the operation of the apparatus above referredto, are the general objects of my invention.

To this end my invention consists in forming a mouth-piece preferablyflat, or nearly so, which piece is provided with a flange all around itsperiphery, and in such manner that when the mouth-piece is thrown on topof the (No model.)

grain the edge of the flange sinks beneath its surface and prevents theentrance of the external air; but at the same time the surface of themouth-piece is in sufficiently close contact with the grain not topermit volumes of air to pass into it without carrying the grain withit.

Many improvements have been made with a View of overcoming thesedifficulties, and they have shown and fully demonstrated the fact that alarge quantity of air permeates the body of grain in bulk in cars,elevators, and ships to such an extent that, when properly controlled,no outside air whatever is required in the manipulation of my pneumaticprocess. Heretofore quantities of air had to be supplied to themouthpiece to make the machine work, but in sucking or drawing the airwith the grain the volume of air was so great that much power of themachine was wasted in pumping said air.

My new mouth-piece is made to coveralarge area of the surface of thegrain, and the edges of the flange sin k-into the grain below itssurface, preventing the admission of outside air, so that airsufiicientis found in the body of grain covered by the mouth-piece toform, with the grain, a semi-fluid, in which condition it is taken upthe tube and passes to the receiver without external air, and,therefore, without loss of power. This condition is maintained withoutfluctuation, for the reason that much of the large space beneath themouth-piece forms alone an air-chamber, which regulates the vacuum to aneven pressure. This process continues until the vessel is entirelyemptied.

In order to illustrate a few of the many ways that my mouth-piece may beconstructed, reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure 1 shows a car loaded with grain, the mouth-piece being inposition for operation. Fig. 2 shows a side elevation and plan inperspective; Fig. 3, a cross-section taken on the lineXX Fig. 2. Figs.4, 5, and 6 are views or modified forms,as my invention is designed tocover all forms without departing from the spirit thereof.

Like letters will indicate like parts in all the figures.

A is the mouth-piece, and B the flange. 0

is the take-up tube,which carries the grain to the receiver.

In many instances the suctionpressure is quite great and requiresconsiderable resistance to prevent a collapse of the mouth-piece. Toavoid this I make the mouth-piece double, as shown in section at Fig. 3.Italso occurs that as the grain is being sucked up into the tube, whenthe space between the grain and the mouthpiece islarge, the grain formswhat I call a cone, which interferes with perfect operation. To preventthis the inner plate is bellied downward, which brings the mouth of thetube close to the grain, and thus the coning of the grain is prevented.Again, if the mouth of the tube is too far from the grain more air inproportion is sucked in, which interferes with the proper suction of thegrain. The upper plate, I), is slightly inclined upward, so that itsheds any grain resting upon it. Thus it will be seen that this form ofmouth piece performs three functions-a. 6., the strengthening of themouthpiece, the prevention of coning of the grain, and the sheddingthereof.

It will be observed that the form shown by Fig. 2 is provided withhinged flanges. The object of this is that generally when a car is beingemptied the middle is emptied first, leaving the sides filled up, sothataflatmouthpiece could not have equal bearing to the sur' face of thegrain, it being naturally at an inclination. To avoid this the hingedflange is thrown up, which opens a mouth for the grain to enter at theside of the mouth-piece, and in this way every particle is sucked up.

The mouth-piece is also provided with small wheels or casters, so thatit can be readily run around the floor of the car without trouble. It isobvious that any other means might be employed for this purpose.

The construction of Figs. 4, 5, and 6 may be plainly understood, keepingalways in mind that better work is done when the pipes and nozzles arewithout curves.

The operation of this mouth-piece will be readily understood from whathas been already stated without further description; but I may remarkthat my invention is designed to cover any means whereby the air isexcluded from the surface of the grain while being sucked up to thereceiver by canvas, india-rubber, sheeting, or in any manner whatever.

As I claim, broadly, the process of sucking or drawing the grain upwithout outside air,

and with the air actually permeated through the grain and embodied inthe interstices between the grain in bulk, it is obvious that a similarmouth-piece may be made in such a manner as to admit a certain quantityof external air Without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. A niouthpiece for pneumaticgraintransfer apparatus,having an enlarged area to cover a largegrain-surface and having wings or flanges to prevent the admission ofair beneath it,and an exit pipe, substantially as set forth.

2. A month -piece for pneumatic grain transfer or conveying apparatus,having an enlarged area and wings or flanges to enter the surface of thegrain, whereby the adn1ission of external air is prevented from enteringbeneath said mouth-piece, and a bellied central portion whereby thesuction-nozzle is brought close to the surface of the grain and anair-chamber is formed in the other portion of the said mouth-piece,substantially as described.

3. A mouth piece for pneumatic graintransfer or other apparatus,havingan enlarged area and wings or flanges to prevent the admission ofexternal air while in operation, a central bellied portion, and anupwardly-inclined portion, substantially as described.

4. A mouth-piece for pneumatic grain-eonveying apparatus, having anenlarged area and flanges to prevent the admission of external air, thesaid flanges being hinged or jointed, for the purpose set forth anddescribed.

5. A month -piece for pneumatic graintransfer or other material,consisting of an exit-pipe and a surrounding portion of enlarged areahaving an airchainber extending above the mouth of said pipe,substantially as described. v

6. Asanew article of manufacture, a mouthpiece having an enlarged area,constructed so as to substantially prevent theentrance of external airbeneath it while in operation.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signaturein presence of two witnesses.

LYMAN SMITH. Witnesses:

HOWARD ARTHUR, M. P. OALLAN.

Ion

